Page 2 of Alien's Love Child

My little underground startup is starting to get crowded.

"Remember when it was just you and me?" I ask. "Back when we could barely afford fuel for this bucket?"

Rena snorts. "You mean when we had to share that tiny bunk because the heating was busted?"

"Hey, I kept you warm, didn't I?"

"Yeah, with your cold feet pressed against my back all night." She flicks a switch, adjusting our trajectory. "Though I'll take that over the time we had to hide in that shipping container on Nexus."

"Three days eating nothing but protein bars." I shake my head, grinning at the memory. "But that payout was worth it."

"Barely covered the repairs after you decided to outrun that Alliance cruiser."

"Which I did, thanks to your flying."

She turns to me, a rare smile softening her features. "We've come a long way since then. Got ourselves a proper crew now."

"Speaking of crew..." I lower my voice. "What do you make of our new job?"

"Nerds give me the creeps." Rena's fingers dance across the navigation panel. "Especially ones running from the Alliance."

"Could be worse. Remember that Ataxian diplomat we transported?"

"The one who insisted on meditating in the cargo hold?" She laughs. "I thought the vibrations would shake us apart."

The ship hums beneath us, a familiar melody I've grown to love. Every dent and scratch tells a story – like the scorch mark near the airlock from our first job together, or the patched panel where Rena once had to perform an emergency repair mid-flight.

"We did alright for ourselves," I say softly.

"That we did, Captain." Rena checks our heading. "That we did."

A day later, still on the way to the pickup location, I'm doing my usual maintenance check of the cargo hold when Taluk's shadow falls across the inventory I'm reviewing. His scales catch the light, casting red reflections on the metal walls.

"Captain, got a minute?"

"Sure." I set down my tablet. "What's on your mind?"

He shifts his weight, glancing around like someone might be listening. "It's about the man we're meeting. Xander."

"What about him?"

"I did some digging. He's a scientist who?—"

"Stop." I hold up my hand. The cargo hold suddenly feels smaller, more confined. "Let me give you some advice, kid. One smuggler to another."

Taluk's mouth snaps shut, his scaled jaw working back and forth.

"We don't dig into our clients' business. Ever. That's rule number one in this line of work. We look at two things – the payment and the risk. That's it."

"But don't you think we should know?—"

"No." I step closer, keeping my voice low but firm. "I'm cutting you some slack because you're new to this. But listen carefully – curiosity gets people killed in our line of work. The less we know, the better we sleep at night."

His scales darken, a sure sign of frustration. The muscles in his jaw flex as he grinds his teeth.

"I appreciate the warning," he says finally. "Won't happen again."

"Good." I pick up my tablet again. "Now, how about you help me inventory these crates? Much safer than poking around in other people's secrets."

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